PHOENIX — While the 2021 Arizona State Fair will be held at Wild Horse Pass, part of the Gila River Indian Community in the fall -- a temporary move in light of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, officials said -- the fairgrounds will host a carnival with some of the rides, games, and foods that fair-goers would typically see.
On Monday, the Arizona State Fair announced the "Crazy Times Carnival," a 10-day event that will be held nightly from 5 p.m. - 10:30 p.m. at the fairgrounds, near 19th Avenue and McDowell Road in Phoenix.
Admission will be $5 or $40 for an unlimited ride wristband. There is no parking fee.
Jennifer Yee, a spokesperson for the Arizona State Fairgrounds, told ABC15 that RCS Fun (Ray Cammack Shows), a longtime partner of the Arizona State Fair that provides many of the rides, games, and concessions at the annual event, is the company behind the carnival and is essentially using the fairgrounds as the venue.
She said Banner Health ended its COVID-19 clinic earlier than expected and Ray Cammack Shows had an opening in its schedule, which is how the event came to be.
Ray Cammack Shows held a carnival in March in the parking lot of the Phoenix Premium Outlets, near Interstate 10 and Wild Horse Pass.
The carnival will have 22 rides, about a dozen games, and "the popular fair food faves," on a stick, of course, Yee said in an email.
Masks are recommended, though not required.
"As a state entity, we follow the Governor's directives," Yee said.
Also happening at the fairgrounds, the Arizona state Senate's audit of the state's 2020 election technology and 2.1 million ballots. That audit is happening inside the Arizona Memorial Coliseum, which is theoretically within walking distance of the carnival.
Yee did not address security concerns in an email late Monday and deferred those questions to Ken Bennet, the former Arizona Secretary of State and the person hired to monitor the Senate's audit.
